Martinsburg ranks third lowest in cost of utilities

Drop in gas prices helps city go from ninth in 2011 to third in 2012

January 12, 2013

MARTINSBURG - Martinsburg had the third least expensive utility rates in the winter of 2011/2012 of the 17 cities surveyed in the annual report by the West Virginia Public Service Commission's Consumer Advocate Division.

In 2010/2011, Martinsburg ranked ninth and in 2009/2010, the city ranked 12th, according to previous reports.

The reason for Martinsburg's leap in the rankings is because of unchanged water rates and significant decreases in natural gas rates, while other cities saw dramatic increases in natural gas and water rates, the CAD report indicates.

"The cost of natural gas and water were the main factors responsible for the disparity in rates within West Virginia," according to the report.

The total monthly cost of electricity, gas, water and basic telephone service for residential customers in Martinsburg was $281.87 in January 2012, according to the report. That is a decrease of $8.32 from January 2011 and a decrease of $16.07 from January 2010.

Utility rates used in the study are based on average monthly usage by a residential customer of 13,000 cubic feet of gas, 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, 4,500 gallons of water and a single line telephone with flat-rate service, including federal charges and surcharges on phone lines, the report notes.

The average monthly cost of electricity in Martinsburg was $99.09, the report shows. The cost of gas, $126.74; telephone, $27.71; and water, $28.33.

The Potomac Edison division of FirstEnergy is Martinsburg's electric utility; Mountaineer Gas supplies gas; Frontier is the telephone company; and water is supplied by the city.

While the cost of electricity went up by $2.85 from 2011 to 2012 for Martinsburg's customers, the increase was more than offset by the drop in the cost of gas, which went down by $8.18.

Telephone and water rates were unchanged in Martinsburg.

Logan in Logan County had the lowest overall monthly utility rates of the cities surveyed at $271.40, while Bluefield had the highest, $310.58.

Electricity, gas and telephone costs are about the same as the rest of the cities on the survey, but Bluefield's water rates are much higher.

The monthly bill for water in Bluefield is $50.50, which, along with four other cities on the survey, is the most. Bluefield's water is supplied by West Virginia-American Water, a private company.

The water rate in Morgantown is the lowest at $17.42, which was a 38.7 percent increase from the year before.

Martinsburg's water rate come in fourth lowest of the surveyed cities.

The average water bill of the 17 cities is $36.54. The cost of electricity, gas and telephone vary only slightly from city to city. The average monthly cost for all utilities is $292.95, an average increase of 2 percent from the year before.

"Unfortunately, most indicators point to continued pressure on electricity rates in the future," the report states. "The rapidly increasing cost of electricity is placing a significant burden on household budgets in West Virginia. The Consumer Advocate Division continues to work with individual customers and community groups around the state to maximize assistance for these customers. A listing of community organizations in each county that can offer help with winter heating bills is found on the Consumer Advocate Division's website, www.cad.state.wv.us, under the heading 'Consumers' Corner.'"